96 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



which stains drops of tannin already present in the wood, particularly 

 in the medullary rays. The chaste beauty of the treated wood has 

 caused it to be used in the manufacture of handsome suites of furniture, 

 in the panelling and furnishing of rooms in leading hotels and famous 

 steamships, including the Mauretania and Balmoral Castle. Yet the 

 beautiful furniture made of this stained wood cannot vie with the antique 

 specimens in which genuine harewood has been used. Moreover, the 

 pure silvery-grey gradually becomes discoloured \Wth yellowish-brown, 

 or changes to a bronze colour. It is claimed that under competent 

 super\4sion this deterioration can be avoided, but I doubt it, and 

 certainly up to the present all the work executed in this stained wood 

 has in course of time suffered the change of colour. 



Heterophragma adenophylluni, Seem, Weight, 47 lbs. Burma. 



The wood is orange-yellow in colour, with occasional darker streaks. 

 It is fairly hard, works and seasons well, and does not warp or split. 

 It is extremely strong and elastic, and it seems probable that it will 

 become a good aeroplane wood ; it has been tried in India for that 

 purpose. It is good for planking, and makes an excellent material for 

 cabinet work. Gamble says that it is well deser\ing of being better 

 known. It is obtainable in squares of 20 feet x 10 inches x 10 inches. 



Hickory. Hicoria ovata, Britt. ; H. laciniosa, Sarg. ; H. glabra, Britt. ; 

 H. alba, Linn. Weight, 46 lbs. 13 oz. Gibson gives the weight as 

 50-52 lbs. North America. 



Although there is nearly always a use for which one wood is better 

 fitted than another, this fact is hardly so well proved in any case more 

 than with this timber. For many purposes there is no wood which can 

 compare with hickory. The supplies are drawn from all botanical 

 species of Hicoria, it being impossible to separate them, and the natural 

 result is that there is a wide divergence in the quaUty of different 

 shipments as regards soundness, toughness, and absence of faulty pieces. 

 One of the worst faults encountered is that of the holes caused by a boring 

 worm or beetle w^hich destroys the value of a large quantity of the timber. 

 It is imported into this country in clean boles with the bark on, but on 

 the Continent before the war a high price was paid for spHt billets, which 

 were highly valued and much in demand. The logs should be converted 

 as soon as possible after arrival, as if left for any length of time, even 

 though protected from the weather, they split very badly. When fresh 

 the logs are of great weight, and the inexperienced are surprised at the 

 cost of freight, the timber averaging as much as one ton and sometimes 

 more, for 26 feet cube of Hoppus' measure. 



The colour varies from almost white through shades of yellow to 



